SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): Annie ft Bjarne Melgaard – Russian Kiss

Just the other day, I mentioned how Annie was probably getting in touch with Richard X to make some more synth-pop dance music since there is a whole ’90s revival. If you go back a few years and listen to “Chewing Gum” or “Greatest Hit,” you will hear how she jumped the ’90s flashback trend. Created as a fundraising record in protest of Russian anti-gay laws, “Russian Kiss” is an updated version of Lil’ Louis’ classic “French Kiss” with new vocals and a bit more acid in the track. The breakdown to slow sexy music (a/k/a porn groove) gradually comes in, unleashing the same primal sexual energy as the original. This is one of the rare updates that both pays respect to the original while twisting it into a new direction that is fresh and now. Club DJs will want to reach for the Skatebard remix, titled “Norwegian Kiss,” which pumps ups the energy while giving it a bit of a happy-go-lucky Deee-Lite kinda vibe. The NSFW video feels like a Benetton ad of hipsters having a kiss-in where they are really going for it. If this doesn’t inspire you to “shake a fist for the Russian kiss,” nothing will.